The Mexican region of Jalisco wants to become a filmmaking hub and state representatives have released plans to do just that.
According to Variety, who dubbed the effort “Jallywood,” reps in Jalisco have introduced a new state law that offers financial incentives for more “audiovisual projects” to be made in the area. They hope to get Congress to implement federal tax incentives in 2021. If that does not happen, they plan on creating an incentive program at the state level.
“Ideally, we want all of Mexico’s states to benefit from nationwide film incentives,” Jalisco film commissioner Rodolfo Guzman told Variety.
An advisory committee has been formed to “fine tune” the law. Included on the committee are film director Patricia Riggen (The 33), actress Kate del Castillo (Under the Same Moon) and director Fernando Lebrija (#Realityhigh), among other Mexican talent.
Jalisco governor Ernesto Alfaro said that since the Jalisco Film Commission was formed in 2014, film projects have increased from six to 110. In 2019, the growth of the industry added nearly $4.8 million to the local economy.
One of the most recent projects being shot in the region is the Apple TV series The Mosquito Coast, which is based on a 1981 book of the same name. It was adapted into the 1986 film starring Harrison Ford about an inventor who moves his family out of the city to live in the jungles of Central America.
In the past, other films that have shot in the Jalisco region include last year’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, 2008’s Limitless and 1987’s original sci-fi classic, Predator.